Exanimate virus
|place_of_origin = Earth|first_appearance = The Arctic Wind|image1 = Virus-1812092 960 720.jpg}}The Exanimate virus is a collection of diseases that create beings known as the Innovation Exanimate. History Background The Exanimate virus was originally ordered by Innovation Incorporation's former leader Anthony Banner to manage lethal diseases similarly to the Flesh created on New Earth. Discovery The Fourteenth Doctor uncovered a fragment of data relating to plans for the virus when searching for information on Manticore. Development The Twenty-Fourth Doctor visited the arctic facility when Ice Warriors were being experimented on. Concurrently, the Exanimate virus was in preparation to be tested. Outbreak in the Innovation Arctic facility When the seventh incarnation of the Commander landed near the Innovation Arctic facility, he discovered an outbreak of the Exanimate virus was occurring in the facility. At some point, he was infected with an active strain of the virus, causing him to go into cardiac arrest and organ failure. Once he managed stopped the outbreak, he regenerated due to the deadly symptoms from being infected, but managed to stop his appearance from changing due to a crack in the Multiverse. Nearly destroyed by the Doctors and Zodiac The Thirty-Second Doctor and the Forty-Seventh Doctor reunited when they were both dragged into the arctic facility, which had been rebuilt. They both met Zodiac II for the first time, but shortly after they all were infected with an active strain of Exanimate. They were all cured of it, though the Thirty-Second Doctor still shown signs of infection, which was primarily memory loss. The facility exploded and was rebuilt once again, but a undeveloped strain of the virus still remained. Pathogen Transmission Many human beings on Earth are believed to be infected by a dormant strain of the Exanimate pathogen. It is currently unknown how one contracts the dormant stage of the pathogen, though its apparent total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either air-borne, water-borne, or both. Once infected, the virus spreads throughout the body through the blood, likely concentrating in the central nervous system. However, so long as the host remains alive, the pathogen remains latent or dormant within them and is asymptomatic to the host. Though physical contact with a Innovation Exanimate's saliva or blood will not cause an individual fatal infection, any fluid contact with open wounds will lead to irreversible contamination of the individual. However, bites are not fatal because of the dormant pathogen. Rather, one possible explanation is that through bites, the active pathogen carried within Exanimates induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, further exacerbated by bacteria that reside in an Exanimate's mouth. Scratches could cause similar infections for similar reasons, however, no one has ever gotten the fever as a result of a scratch. While scratches and clawing rarely cause fatal infections, the deep gouges generally left by bites are almost always fatal; death can be potentially avoided if the bite is on an appendage, which must be immediately amputated. However, this does not always work, and bites on the torso, or on veins or arteries are universally fatal. Even if an amputation proves successful at removing the infection, blood loss and subsequent infection is also extremely dangerous due to the generally unprofessional execution of the procedure. Symptoms of Infections The pathogen seems to possess two stages: a dormant stage and an active stage. Dormant stage If infected with a dormant strain, the pathogen is asymptomatic. The host will thus remain healthy despite being technically 'infected' and will contain to remain so as long they are alive. After the host dies, the dormant pathogen enters the active stage and will begin the process of reanimating the body through the infection and reactivation of neural structures in the brain. No matter how an individual dies, unless their brain was severely damaged or destroyed, they will reanimate into a Innovation Exanimate following death. Active stage The pathogen enters the active stage when an individual dies and is responsible for the host's reanimation as an Exanimate. When an individual is bitten by an Exanimate, the active pathogen is transmitted into them as well as a plethora of bacteria and other infectious agents that reside in an Exanimate's mouth. In the event that amputation fails or is not possible, it is believed that the active pathogen then induces a fatal and irreversible cytokine storm, causing a high fever, aches, extreme fatigue, and nausea. As the infection progresses, the active pathogen invades and spreads through the brain like meningitis, infecting synapses and other neural structures that are concentrated in the brain stem and parts of the cerebellum. At the climax of the infection, the adrenal glands hemorrhage and the brain completely shuts down. All brain activity would cease, followed by the major organs and the body would be clinically dead: no measurable brain activity, no reflexes, and no respiration or pulse. The time between the onset of the symptoms and death, followed by reanimation is very dependent on the severity, location, and quantity of the bite wound(s) of individuals who cannot be saved. Those bitten experience the following symptoms as the infection progresses, ending in death: * Dizziness * Weakness and fatigue * Fever * Delirium/hallucinations * Chills * Nausea/vomiting * Pale skin * Diluted pupils * Soreness * Fluid discharge * Spontaneous aggression or anger * Fainting * Hair loss and missing scalp pieces * Dehydration * Coughing up Blood * Pale yellow sclera * Delirium * Internal hemorrhaging * Organ failure * Memory loss * Cardiac arrest Reanimation The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as an Exanimate, unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed, or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. When a person dies, the active pathogen they carry enters the active stage, and reactivates critical areas of the brain that it infected, specifically the brain stem and some parts of the cerebrum and cerebellum that support necessary vital systems such as movement, resulting in reanimation after a variable amount of time. Since the active pathogen only reactivates the brain stem and not parts of the brain such as the frontal lobe and neocortex that are responsible for higher-order brain functions, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self. It was stated by Fourteenth Doctor that a corpse can reanimate between three minutes and eight hours after death, though there are instances where reanimation seems to happen much quicker, and Zodiac II suggested that it could happen in seconds.